MR. SNOW: Welcome. Just a quick announcement, then I'll be happy to
take questions.

President Bush will host NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at
the White House on October 27, 2006. The President looks forward to
reviewing with the Secretary General the work underway for the NATO
summit in Riga, Latvia, next month, to strengthen and transform the
alliance to meet the key security challenges of the 21st century.

The President and the Secretary General will also discuss the wide range
of issues on NATO's agenda, including Alliance efforts to promote
democracy and freedom in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and Darfur.

Questions. Terry.

Q The President says he's constantly changing tactics in Iraq. The
Democrats say he should change course. Are the two sides using
different words to say the same thing?

MR. SNOW: I don't think so. Are you referring to the letter that came
out today?

Q Yes.

MR. SNOW: Yes, I've got the letter here and, no, I think there's a
difference in approach, because when Democrats talk about changing
course here, here's the strategy they propose -- they say they've
outlined it a couple of times: One is for the United States to leave,
"phased redeployment" means get out; secondly is to move to "more
proactively pressure Iraqi leaders to disarm the militias and develop a
broad base and sustainable political settlement," which is what the
Iraqis do; and then, finally, to convene an international conference to
deal with constitutional and other issues. In other words, cut and run
is now being augmented by "walk and talk."

Because, in this particular instance, there's nothing particularly new
here. What you have is a lot of criticism. The President understands
the difficulty in a time of war. And he also understands that what you
do is you adjust tactically. I was talking today with General Caldwell,
and the way he describes it, the military term of art is you "work the
plan." And if things are not achieving the objectives as you wish, you
adjust and you work the plan. And he says they're continuing to work
the plan in Baghdad and elsewhere. Those are the kinds of tactical
adjustments.

What the President has made pretty clear is that there are a handful of
things that he has ruled out. He is eager to hear about other ideas;
but leaving is not going to work, and partition is simply off the table.

So you've got some things that the President has said he is simply not
going to do, but he is also always open to ideas and suggestions, and he
consults regularly with his military. As a matter of fact, there's a
scheduled meeting, a planned meeting tomorrow where he'll be talking to
General Abizaid and Casey and others as part of a regular consultation
process.

Q In person?

MR. SNOW: No, it's a SVTS.

Q On the partition question, you said yesterday it was a non-starter;
today you said the President doesn't want to think about it. You have
prominent Republicans like Senator Hutchison and Senator Santorum saying
that it should be looked at. Why does the administration --

MR. SNOW: It has been looked at. It has been looked at.

Q Why is it not -- why is it a non-starter?

MR. SNOW: It's a non-starter because you don't want to recreate the
Balkans. What you have is -- within Iraq there is a sense of national
identity, and it was expressed at considerable risk by 12 million Iraqis
last year. They made it clear that they consider themselves part of a
nation. And the idea of breaking them into pieces raises the prospect
in the south that you're going to have pressure from Iran on the largely
Shia south; you're going to have difficulties in the north with the
Kurds, with the Turks and the Syrians, who are worried about a greater
Kurdistan; and then if you have in the middle a Sunni population that
has been cut out of the prosperity by oil to the north and south, you
have a recipe for a tinderbox.

It makes a lot more sense to continue, rather than saying to everybody,
go to your separate corners and be different people, to build on the
sense of Iraqi identity that was expressed by people who went forward
and voted, which is an -- at times when a lot of people were saying,
they aren't going to vote, the Sunnis aren't going to participate --
remember all these predictions that were made last year? They turned
out not to be true.

And so it makes perfect sense to try to work with the Iraqis for what
they want, rather than to insist that they follow a path that people in
Washington may think is more politically convenient.

Q Just to follow on that, pressed on the Balkans issue, Balkanizing
Iraq, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said, well, the Balkans appear a lot
more safe than Iraq is right now.

MR. SNOW: Well, again, we stand by our position. We love and respect
Senator Hutchison, but on this one we just disagree.

Q Abizaid and Casey are coming in for a meeting tomorrow --

MR. SNOW: No, no, no, it's a regular -- it's what they call a SVTS.
It's a secure communication. This has been on the schedule for weeks.

Q It was not in response to --

MR. SNOW: No, it's not in response to news stories, it's not in
response to anything else. It's a regular consult that happens at
fairly regular intervals.

Q Let me ask you a question to make sure that I have my arms around
-- we've been talking tactics and strategy and objectives. Let's get it
on the table, and for purposes of future discussion, even, have an
understanding of what we're talking about. Strategy, as I understand
it, is how war is conducted, it's a plan of action.

MR. SNOW: That's going to fall more -- let me explain --

Q And tactics are how you implement that, right?

MR. SNOW: Let me try to explain the terms I'm using the way I've used,
because it's given us all plenty to talk about the last two weeks. So I
will assert press secretary's privilege to define the terms of the
debate, and then we can talk about it.

Let's first set the goal, what do you want to achieve. You want to
achieve as a goal an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern itself.
What is the strategy? The strategy is to use not merely military force,
but other means at your disposal to create that secure Iraq. That
includes a security component -- military, police, and so on. It
includes a political component -- a government that is able to govern,
and at the same time, also draws in parties from all over the country
who are invested in it.

A third part is an economic component, because that is also going to be
absolutely necessary to say to some who have gone into the insurgency,
because they think they have no prospects, no, you've got prospects
here. So the strategy is to use all three of those means to bring about
the end, of an Iraq that can sustain, govern and defend itself.

On the tactical side, you're going to have all three meshing together in
different ways, because they do intersect. For instance, when you're
dealing with oil fields, you do have security concerns. You have
political concerns, as well. We've encouraged the Iraqis to treat that
as a natural resource to be shared by all. So that is how -- so you've
got goals, strategy, tactics.

Q Okay, and that's the Snow definition --

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Webster's has "tactics" as: the way you implement strategy.

MR. SNOW: Well, Webster's and I agree on this one, Jim. (Laughter.)

Q Okay. And I'm sure that comes as great comfort to Webster's.

MR. SNOW: Old Daniel has been gone a while, but I'm sure his heirs and
assigns are happy.

Under this term, is the President, right now, entertaining a change in
strategy?

MR. SNOW: No.

Q Flat out, you reject it, there will be no change in strategy?

MR. SNOW: Again, strategy is, you want an economic component, a
political component and a security component. You're talking about what
I refer to as tactics --

Q I'm talking about policy --

MR. SNOW: The policy is pretty straightforward: You use those three
components to try to achieve the end. What you're talking about is
tactics, which are the means by which you get those strategies enacted,
correct? The tactics are, for instance, how do you deal with a certain
neighborhood in Baghdad, what's the proper way to secure that? That's a
tactical issue. How do you try to reach out to build political
accommodation between Sunni and Shia? That's a tactical issue. How do
you try to secure the oil fields in such a way as to increase revenues
from the oil fields to build a sense of prosperity? That's a tactical
issue. Those are not strategic concerns. The strategy is the
big-picture pieces that I outlined.

Q Yes, and what you're telling me is in the strategy, in this big
picture, he's entertaining no change.

MR. SNOW: No, what I'm telling you is, tactically, you adjust all the
time. He is entertaining no change in believing that you can't do it
militarily alone, you can't do it politically alone, can't do it
economically alone. And on that, I guarantee --

Q He can't do what?

MR. SNOW: An Iraq that can sustain, govern, and defend itself -- goal.
Goal, strategy, tactics. Now, let me just -- and on that point, I think
you'll find Democrats and Republicans generally will at least agree that
you cannot do it strictly through military operations, you need a
political component, you need an economic component. And, indeed, all
three are mentioned in this letter to the President today.

So at the strategic level, people really do agree. Now the question is,
how you implement those strategies? And on that, there's wide
disagreement.

Q Tony, what is James Baker doing? What are they looking at, if not
trying to change the strategy? It almost seems like you're changing the
definition of strategy to fit tactics in the middle --

MR. SNOW: No, what I'm trying to do is to come up with some way in
which you and I can talk the same language so that we don't all go
cross-eyed in total bewilderment and confusion. And so perhaps -- look,
you guys, why don't you email me the labels you want me to use for these
various groupings that I've given to you.

Q I just want to know, James Baker is using -- will look at strategy,
and you're saying you're going to listen to James Baker and Lee Hamilton
and this bipartisan report --

MR. SNOW: Well, I think what they're talking --

Q -- then what's strategy in your definition?

MR. SNOW: I think they will agree with what I described as "strategy,"
which is --

Q But you just said you're not even considering a change in -- no,
Tony, sorry.

MR. SNOW: No, that's because I'm not going to -- we are not going to
change our belief that you require -- this is the strategy -- this is
the strategic picture that requires an economic, political and security
component. And I guarantee you people on that commission agree. So
what we're talking about they describe as strategy, I'll describe as
tactics. Sorry, we're talking different languages; I'm trying to
harmonize for the purpose of answering your question.

Q Okay. So James Baker is doing what the President says he relies on
his generals to do, which is tactics.

MR. SNOW: Well, I think he's really -- the generals also engage not
merely in -- yes, to some extent, yes; but the generals also have a much
more detailed ground-level view of how to achieve these things. Maybe
we need to come up with a fourth label.

But Secretary Baker and Lee Hamilton and others are going to take a
close look at ideas that they think are going to be more effective to
achieve that strategic goal of an Iraq that can defend itself, sustain
itself, and govern itself, and to do so in a way that involves security,
economic and political components.

I think all of that is agreed upon. So now the question is, what is
your mid-level goal? They're going to take a look at the various goals
and try to proceed. I know, we're getting into a linguistic swivet
here.

Q I know, I know. But it's like we're changing the goals -- it's
almost like you're trying to hide behind the term "tactics" to change
strategy.

MR. SNOW: No. No. Because I think the strategy is real clear. You
try to use all three of those modalities to achieve an end.

Q Can we talk about -- speaking of generals, General Caldwell,
yesterday -- you said you called him right before you came out here.

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Why is that?

MR. SNOW: Because I try to touch base with him. I actually --

Q Every day? Do you always, every day, or just when he says
something that you may not agree with?

MR. SNOW: No, I quoted him. I said he was quoted somewhat out of
context. I didn't say he was misquoted. And I read the full quote
yesterday so that people can decide.

Q You did say it was misquoted.

MR. SNOW: Well, he was quoted out of context. Okay, well, then I was
wrong. He was quoted out of context. But the other thing is General
Caldwell knows better than I what the situation is on the ground, so I
rely on him to try to provide data. In fact, he's putting together some
data points, because I know there's a lot of interest in trying to
figure out metrics for it. He's working that up and I hope to have some
of that for you Monday.

Q Do you have an idea of the metrics so far? Do you have an idea of
how the indicators are going in Baghdad about how things are going?
What's your assessment based on what you talked with General Caldwell?

MR. SNOW: Let me -- I'll get back to you Monday, because I think what
you want to do is to have an assessment with a sufficiently good
timeline that you can draw conclusions that are defensible. He's
working on that. Give me until Monday and I'll bring back the homework
for you.

Q Tony, going back to the strategy, is it still open-ended at this
point? Is the President still opposed to any kind of phased withdrawal,
and also giving the Iraqi government a more specific deadline of when
they need to get things going?

MR. SNOW: Two things. Number one, the President has made it clear that
he is not going to do a phased withdrawal just for the hell of doing a
phased withdrawal.

Q But if that's a recommendation that he hears from commanders and --

MR. SNOW: He hasn't heard that from commanders. If he'd heard that
from commanders, then he would think about it. But the notion is -- he
does believe in a phased withdrawal if the conditions on the ground are
suitable. And he's always said that; at some point we're going to bring
folks home, and we hope sooner rather than later.

The President doesn't like being in this war. Nobody likes being in a
war. But you also understand that if you walk out before the job is
done, you create incredible instability in the Middle East, you buy more
difficulty for you here at the United States, you'll add aid and comfort
to people who think that they will be able to attack Americans with
impunity here and around the world. You make the world a less [sic]
dangerous place by walking away before the conditions are right for
doing so. However, when the conditions are right, you bet there's going
to be a phased withdrawal. But it's not on an artificial timetable.

As far as talking with the Iraqis, we consult with them. General
Caldwell, General Casey, General Abizaid, Zal Khalilzad, members of the
administration consult constantly. I mean, the Iraqis don't want us
around any longer than we want to be there ourselves. They also want to
have the ability to sustain, govern, and defend themselves without
outside help. So it is certainly in their interests to do it as quickly
as possible. They've got every motivation to do so, and we understand
that and we'll do everything we can to assist them.

Q Is General Abizaid going to be meeting with the President in
person, either today or tomorrow?

MR. SNOW: I don't think so.* I think this is -- can we double check?
But I think it's by SVTS. I think this is by secure communications,
it's a video conference.

Q Do you have an update on Amarah, on the situation?

MR. SNOW: No, I don't. They're still trying to collect data and trying
to assess exactly what the situation is.

Q Can I ask you something about what the President said today at The
Mayflower? He was talking about the terrorists trying to influence
public opinion, filming their atrocities, he said, emailing messages and
video clips to Middle Eastern cable networks like Al Jazeera and opinion
leaders throughout the West. Why the mention of Al Jazeera? And to
whom was he referring when he talked about "opinion leaders" in the
West?

MR. SNOW: Well, your network has shown pictures of snipers hitting
Americans, which was used as a propaganda tool, so the fact is that --
it shows real sophistication on the part of these guys, because it
creates the impression that Americans are sitting ducks, and that these
guys are capable, when, in fact, while you have a capable enemy, they're
dying in much greater numbers and suffering much greater damage. Now I
know that's hard to -- as General Caldwell said yesterday, you can have
this carnage and progress existing side by side. Unfortunately, the
pictures are all moving in one way.

The President was referring to the attempt to take images like that and
use those as a way of not only -- of trying to break the will of the
American people. It's not going to work.

Q Does the President believe it's wrong for CNN to show that?

MR. SNOW: No, we're not -- I'm just telling you what happened. Those
are editorial judgments, and I'm not going to tell you what you do and
don't run. This is a free country.

Q But by mentioning this in a --

MR. SNOW: Well, because you asked the question. You asked who I was
referring to.

Q Well, by the President raising it, I'm saying. By the President
raising that issue, is he sending a message that he thinks it's wrong
for networks to air that?

MR. SNOW: No, again, I'm going to let -- the President, I think, is
smart enough not to tell television networks what they can run and can't
run. But all we're doing is making it clear what's going on. I think,
perhaps -- I'm sure the editors are savvy enough to know that when they
get a video like this, it's designed less to give you a full and
complete view of what's going on in the country than to create a sense
of triumphalism for the killers of Americans. That's the intention of
that. I think that's hard to dispute. That's the only point.

Q On the Abizaid meeting, is he in Iraq or is he in D.C.? Or where
is he going to be, do you know?

MR. SNOW: I think he's --

MS. PERINO: He's in Iraq.

MR. SNOW: He's either in Iraq or he's at Central Command or in Doha.
My sense is he's probably in Doha, Casey is probably in Iraq, and the
President will be in the White House.

Q Okay. And do you have any plans for a readout? Is this tomorrow,
did you say?

MR. SNOW: No, no. This is a meeting where they talk about
on-the-ground tactics and ongoing intelligence. It happens quite often.
You now know they're meeting. But, no, we're not going to spread out
the map and let you look at all the dots on it. That's just not going
to work.

Q But you don't think he's coming here, Tony?

MR. SNOW: I don't think -- I'll find out for sure. This is asterisked.
I don't know, but I'll find out.

Q Thank you, Tony. At the gaggle this morning when you were asked
about the President's closed appearances on behalf of Republican
candidates, you just said that's the way it is in the land of
McCain-Feingold. Now, I wonder, are you saying that the campaign
finance laws limit the President from larger and more open things?
Would you elaborate?

MR. SNOW: I think what happens is, now when a President goes someplace,
it's got to be paid for, and it can't be paid for out of party coffers
because of restrictions on soft money. So what happens is the people
there --

Q Or state party coffers.

MR. SNOW: Either, is my understanding. So what has to happen is,
people have got to pony up the cash to pay for the fairly heavy delivery
costs of Air Force One and the entourage that goes with it. So it costs
money, and people do have to pay. It sometimes suppresses turnout when
you've got to pay a lot of money or pay money for it.

I'll tell you what we'll try to do is -- because I don't want to pawn
myself off as too expert on McCain-Feingold or federal election stuff --
we'll try to put together a brief summary, and we'll get it out so that
you can -- at least we can point to what the legal provisions are and
the implications.

Olivier.

Q Tony, when was partition last seriously considered? And what about
changes to the way the federal structure of Iraq is created? You've
stopped short of partition, but --

MR. SNOW: Well, there's a federalism --

Q -- it just gives the region more and more autonomy.

MR. SNOW: Well, there's a federalism debate ongoing in Iraq, and we
certainly support the debate. That is a far different thing than
partition.

Q Sure, but they're on the same spectrum, in the sense that you're
giving these regions more autonomy, more control --

MR. SNOW: Yes, well, that's -- I mean, that's part of the reasonable
and ongoing debate about what's going to work best for an Iraqi
democracy.

Q And when was partition last seriously considered?

MR. SNOW: I don't have a date. But the fact is --

Q Pre-war, post-war?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. I mean, this is one of these things where I
think the arguments are pretty clear on behalf of partition.

Yes, Lester.

Q Two questions. Thank you. In connection with your mentioning they
are suffering great damage, The Wall Street Journal claims that a report
from Johns Hopkins of 655,000 Iraqi war dead is bogus. My question: Is
that the case? And, if so, how many Iraqi war dead are estimated by our
Commander-in-Chief?

MR. SNOW: Number one, I'm not going to give you an estimate, and number
two, the same organization has used the same methodology to almost
universal criticism. But I will let the people who handle statistics
give you a more definitive analysis of it.

Q One network, WorldNetDaily, quotes two newspapers, AgapePress and
The Washington Blade, reporting that at the swearing in of Mark Dybul as
an AIDS Ambassador, Secretary of State Rice referred to the mother of a
gay partner as, mother-in-law. And my question: How does this adhere
to the President's belief in policy that marriage is between one man and
one woman?

MR. SNOW: The Secretary said what she said, and she was showing due
deference to the people involved.

Paula.

Q I just wondered if you could clarify the dates of the (inaudible)?
Initially, (inaudible) was said it was basically for a regime change --
I mean, a question of regime change whether or not to go in. And then
it moved to (inaudible) -- and the goal post changed to weapons of mass
destruction --

MR. SNOW: Well, actually, Paula, I would take --

Q -- freedom and democracy. I'm just wondering which one it is.

MR. SNOW: Well, go back and read U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441.
That will give you a pretty good take on it.

Q On Iraq, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, stated
yesterday, "Under today's circumstances, it is impossible for the United
States of America and Iraq to open the a front against the PKK and fight
with them. Turkey should show us understanding because it is extremely
difficult to pull the military forces out from the southern and central
parts of the country to the northern part and fight there."

MR. SNOW: Shorten it up. What's the question about the PKK?

Q The question is, since Mr. Zebari is (inaudible), how do you
respond (inaudible) --

MR. SNOW: Number one, there has been a move to shut down PKK offices
within Iraq, and we're going to let the Iraqi government handle that.

Q Has the situation in Iran become more dangerous in recent days?
The leader is saying that Israel should not exist. And has Iran become
stronger during this (inaudible) --

MR. SNOW: No, I think what's going on -- I mean, it's not the first
time that Ahmadinejad has made such comments about Israel. Meanwhile,
there is ongoing diplomatic effort, reflected in comments by Mr.
Larijani the other day, to make it clear to the Iranians that the
international community, including some of their friends and neighbors,
do not want them to develop nuclear weapons. So that's -- not
particularly, no.

Victoria.

Q We talk about winning and victory, and you're talking about an Iraq
that can sustain, govern, and defend itself. Would you consider a
victory for Iraq that can do those things where there was not a
democracy, if they're not actually able to sustain a democracy?

MR. SNOW: Democracy is the goal that we have for the Iraqi people.
But, more importantly, it's the goal they themselves have set. You're
going to have to ask them whether they're -- having risked their own
lives and blood in support of a democracy, whether they want to give it
up. And so far the pretty clear answer is, no.

Q You said the election is evidence of a desire on the part of the
Iraqis for nationhood. Is that necessarily inconsistent with the
possibility that in the interim the Iraqis have become disenchanted with
the failures and shortcomings of the Maliki government and they no
longer have the same attitude about nationhood?

MR. SNOW: That is the kind of question that is probably unanswerable
because it requires -- you're going to have to be, A, asking the Iraqi
people. But you've got a Maliki government that is a little more than
four months old, and I think it is probably reasonable to suspect that
that government needs time to get settled, as it has been doing. We
think they've been doing a good job. And so you can speculate all you
want.

The most important thing is, on three different occasions now, contrary
-- predictions to the contrary notwithstanding, the Iraqi people have
voted in ever greater numbers, first for a constitution and then for an
elected government. So I don't see any reason to think that suddenly
they're going to say, nope, we don't want this anymore, we want
despotism.

Q Why won't our government give us an estimate of the Iraqi civilian
deaths?

MR. SNOW: It's very difficult to come up with totals. What happens is
we've left that to the Iraqis who, in fact, have been providing, through
the hospitals, their own estimates.

Q Tony, can you say a few words about the new Bush space policy that
was released, strangely enough, on a Friday afternoon before Columbus
Day, on the website of the Office of Science and Technology --

MR. SNOW: You mean the strategy that, strangely enough, was announced
in July?

Q No, it was put on the website on the weekend of Columbus Day.

MR. SNOW: Okay. What do you wish to know? Not that I'm very good at
it.

Q It's about a 16-page document and NASA is mentioned in one
sentence, and the gist of it is, we're going to protect our space
assets, which seems to be self-evident. Why was it necessary to issue
such a statement? Is there a shift now in terms of how we use space
more towards security military --

MR. SNOW: No, and I would -- honestly -- the answer is, no, but I'd
refer questions to NASA, where you're going to get people who know a lot
more about this than I do.

Q Can you tell me who had an input in the policy? How did that --

MR. SNOW: I have no idea. I'll try to find out for you.

Q On Amarah for a second --

MR. SNOW: Okay, go ahead.

Q It's the second city in the last couple of days that had either
been under American or British troop control and had been turned over.
What does what's happening in Amarah tell you or suggest to you about
the possibility of being further away from the sort of stand/up,
stand/down, in terms of Iraq --

MR. SNOW: That's a good question, and I don't know. I mean, I think --
again, that's the kind of question that people on the ground will ask
themselves, and it's the right question to ask. But on the other hand
--

Q It doesn't seem to suggest very good things for the --

MR. SNOW: No, but on the other hand, if every time you see somebody
engaging in a counterattack that suddenly is seen as a failure of
policy, there may be other things going on that don't get quite as much
publicity. And this is why I'm going to try to put together some
metrics for you, that give you a view that there are all sorts of things
-- there are some things that are going on that are positive within
Iraq, some that are negative, and some that are temporary.

And I am still trying to find out, because our guys literally do not
have a full read on what's going on in Amarah. So we're going to try to
-- so rather than trying to leap to a nationwide conclusion based on
what's going on there, we're going to try to figure out what the fact
are, and then I'll be happy to entertain questions about what
conclusions we can draw.

Also, we're going to be trying to get some of the people in Iraq also to
be speaking out more and giving operational details so that those
questions are answered by people who are a lot closer to them.

Q Does the President think something like Amarah is done by the
insurgents to actually influence the elections in this country?

MR. SNOW: Again, there are many theories about what's going on. I
think -- they don't put out press releases, so we don't know what is
inspiring them. We just know that you've got to beat them.

Q Tony, a couple of minutes ago, you said one of the goals in Iraq is
to prevent civil war. Can you take a minute and give us the definition
that the President is working with? Because he continues to say it's
not at that state yet; lots of analysts do say it's at that state.
What's the threshold that the administration is working with --

MR. SNOW: I think the general notion is a civil war is when you have
people who use the American Civil War or other civil wars as an example,
where people break up into clearly identifiable feuding sides clashing
for supremacy within Iran.

Q And there's nothing on the ground that the President is looking at
that he thinks is a prospect --

MR. SNOW: At this point, you do have a lot of different forces that are
trying to put pressure on the government and trying to undermine it.
But it's not clear that they are operating as a unified force. You
don't have a clearly identifiable leader. And so in this particular
case, no.

What you do have is a number of different groups -- you know, they've
been described in some cases as rejectionists, in others as terrorists.
In many cases, they are not groups that would naturally get along,
either, but they severally and together pose a threat to the government.

Q When the President talks to Abizaid (inaudible) tomorrow, or
routinely when he talks to them, how does he explore with them this
question, the question about what the conditions are, is anything
getting closer to that, or how do they read that?

MR. SNOW: He asks them.

Q He does ask them directly?

MR. SNOW: I'm not in on the meetings. I've been on many other meetings
with the President. I can tell you that he asks very direct questions
about that. But, honestly, I'm not going to get a precise readout of
the questions he asks. But based on my experience with the President,
in situations that are similar, he is very direct and he wants to find
out what's going on, and he doesn't want people giving him a rosy
picture.

Q And one last follow-up. Would we naturally assume that if those
conditions were met, if he heard that from the generals on the ground,
that that would be one of the things that would alter the strategy or
tactics?

MR. SNOW: The strategy is going to be the same, which is an Iraq that
can sustain, govern and defend itself. You cannot have a failed state
in Iraq. It would be catastrophic.

Q So anyone who thinks that those conditions would propel the United
States out faster or withdraw faster would be wrong?

MR. SNOW: Again, short of -- the conditions are going to be an Iraq
that can sustain, govern and defend itself. And it's very important to
realize that the United States is going to do everything possible to
help the government. Rather than -- because I can see where this
question would go, and I'm not going to go there, because it's the kind
of hypothetical that can be twisted into talking points, and I think
it's probably -- it's provocative, but it's an unfair question to ask at
this juncture.

Q We have a little over two weeks to go until Election Day, Tony.
How do you see the landscape right now for Republican candidates in the
House and the Senate? And I'm curious as to whether you're seeing
anything differently in your travels on behalf of candidates that differ
with public opinion polls which show Republicans in not such a great
state?

MR. SNOW: Well, I think you've got -- look, in a midterm election,
races are local, quite often governed by local issues. There are going
to be some places where it's really tough for Republicans, where they're
going to be toast. There are also going to be places where Democrats
are toasted.

What you do in a midterm election is that you try to take a reasonable
look at each and every one of the districts, and what the prospects are.
What we find is the Republicans, contrary to popular opinion -- and the
RNC has put out a press release on this today -- are highly motivated,
and they are determined to try to help Republican candidates win. And
we feel pretty confident about the prospects. But do we think it's
easy? No. I mean, this is a tough election, and it's a tough election
where you've got very strong opinions around the country.

One of the key elements and one of the things that gives us comfort is,
you've got a President who is showing leadership and telling people
exactly what he wants to do. And quite often the opposition is telling
them -- complaining about what the President has done, but not saying
what they want to do. And when you are facing a challenging world, and
also when you want to try to build on an economy that's performed
absolute miracles in the last five years, you probably ought to ask
yourself, what are they going to do? And we think that when people ask
those questions, it's going to be good for Republican candidates.

Q Do you notice any difference when you go out on behalf of
candidates around the country, something different than I'm reading or
seeing when I read opinion polls?

MR. SNOW: Well, look, I am speaking to a pretty self-selected audience,
so I'm speaking to Republican activists who are coming out to hear the
press secretary. They're pretty happy to see me. But on the other
hand, I don't think anybody -- again, don't think you want to try to use
that as your one and only focus group. But even so, they understand
it's a tough race and they understand that they're going to have to get
their people out, and they're going to have to get people motivated, and
they're going to have to get them positive.

And I think it's important to realize that there's a positive core to
the message, which is, you do have to have somebody who has got an
affirmative approach not only to fighting in Iraq, but the larger war on
terror, which is something that is of concern to everybody; who has
sensible and strong ideas about the economy, he wants to make sure that
people have money in their pockets; who was talking today about
Medicare, which, surprise, surprise, thanks to market-based initiatives
have been saving people a lot of money and providing coverage; he'll be
talking about energy innovation -- everybody agrees about that, but he's
the guy talking about exactly how he wants to innovate.

So you've got a President who is actively engaged and positive and
optimistic about what this country can achieve. That's a pretty good
message.

Q Thank you.

Q That same motivation is there among Republicans that existed in
2004?

MR. SNOW: I wasn't there in 2004, I was on your side. Come on up and
you can ask.

END 1:43 P.M. EDT

* General Abizaid is in town and will meet with the President this
afternoon